Businessman facing charges of making expletive-laden calls

A local businessman is facing charges in two unrelated cases in Winchendon District Court of making annoying phone calls.

George Mizhir, 79, of 300 Elmwood Road is scheduled to appear in court for pretrial hearings on Jan. 18 in the two cases, one involving Winchendon planning agent Ellen E. Decoteau and the other Winchendon resident Kevin Miller, who signed a petition for the recall of Selectmen Burton E. Gould Jr. and Edward Bond.

In the case involving Ms. Decoteau, Mr. Mizhir is charged with calling her three times at home Oct. 29 and once at work Oct. 26 and making harassing comments about her and another town employee. According to a police report filed with court documents, Ms. Decoteau said Mr. Mizhir is involved in a land transaction with the town and is upset at not getting his money.

Ms. Decoteau told police that when she received the first call, she hung up as soon as she recognized Mr. Mizhir’s voice. In the other two calls, he left messages on answering machines. The comments were personal and laced with expletives.

This is the second case recently involving Ms. Decoteau as the alleged victim. On Nov. 17 a complaint was issued in Winchendon District Court alleging business owner Jason W. Mughmaw had assaulted Ms. Decoteau by grabbing her left arm and demanding a copy of a purchase and sale agreement on land he bought from the town.

Mr. Mughmaw is in a dispute with the town over environmental issues involving 1.25 acres he bought from the town.

The calls to Mr. Miller were made Sept. 22. In the first call, Mr. Miller said, Mr. Mizhir began cursing and yelling at him after asking if he had signed the recall petition. During the second call, Mr. Miller let the call go to the answering machine, but when the message Mr. Mizhir was leaving allegedly became too vulgar, he picked up the phone and hung it up because he did not want his children to hear it.

Mr. Mizhir has been vocal on the local political scene over the years, pulling few punches. His confrontations with public officials go back to 1990, when he demonstrated at former state Rep. Chester A. Suhoski’s campaign table at the town’s Fourth of July celebration, carrying a sign that read, “Chet is a sleaze.”

In 2002, after Mr. Mizhir erected signs in town calling Town Manager James M. Kreidler a “human piece of garbage,” selectmen voted to condemn his actions. Following the vote, a selectman who criticized Mr. Mizhir at the meeting filed three complaints against the businessman, alleging he was making annoying telephone calls to him. The case was dismissed without a plea or finding, but Mr. Mizhir was ordered to stay away from the selectman.

In 2004, Mr. Mizhir erected more signs calling Mr. Kreidler a “lying, evil, $100,000 a year ugly 4 eyed snake in the grass.” In September 2004, the town took out a no-trespass order against Mr. Mizhir, alleging he was harassing town employees. He was ordered to stay away from Town Hall.